Madman

Beginning with a simple, buoyant acoustic guitar trance colored by glistening piano, the title track of Sean Rowe's most recent album, Madman, is reminiscent of Van Morrison at his most jangly and Leonard Cohen at his most lyrically blunt. On his third album, New York native Rowe bellows a tribute to his committed touring life, as well as to his loved ones unable to come along for the ride. On tracks like “Razor of Love” and “The Game,” Rowe's instrumentation is sparse, his lyrics decidedly well-spaced, leaving room for the listener to digest as he sings in “Razor of Love”: “You reach for the past, but it melts like the snow/Damn decisions they follow you everywhere that you go/You made your mistakes, there's no pill left to take/Just some water.” Contrasting his subtly confessional poetics, Rowe's more upbeat tracks like “Desiree” and “Shine My Diamond Ring” make you feel as if you're traveling the Blues Highway in the 1970s as he blends a bluesy rage with some happy-feet disco. Rowe's deep voice is the star here, warm, resonant, cavernous and unlike any current singer in the folk/Americana/blues world.